CHAPTER FIVE: SARAH

It was the dead of the night.

Silver was sitting up on her bed, her computer on her lap, squinting her eyes at the dimmed screen. She held her phone up to her ear, doing everything she could to not awake the girl slumbering a few metres away.

“I know what I saw, Sarah!” Silver hissed. “Ashlynn Speed was there.”

“Well,” a robotic voice, imitating a teenage girl, responded. “You’re not going to get much about her off internet searches, Sil. I suggest either confronting the mayor or hacking into the police database.”

Silver groaned quietly, running a hand down her face.
“Hacking into the criminal database is both risky and illegal, but it sounds a thousand times much better than confronting Ms. Speed.”

Suddenly–
“Who are you talking to?”

Silver jumped, clutching onto her phone.
“Why are you awake?”

Cherry sat up and smiled, stretching her arms before speaking.
“I don’t sleep.”

Silver frowned thoughtfully.
“So, you’ve been awake this whole time?”

Cherry shrugged.
“Sure.”

Silver laughed nervously, 
“So, you heard everything I just said?”

Cherry shook her head and chuckled.
“Not really, I was thinking about something.”

“I see...”

Cherry glanced at Silver’s phone,
“What happened?”

Silver glanced at her phone as well and inhaled sharply,
“It’s... uhm... it's a long story.”

“Go on, I'm not going anywhere.”

Silver bit her lip nervously,
“Promise me you wouldn’t tell anyone?”

Cherry flashed a toothy grin.
“Trust me. I know how to keep secrets.”

Silver drummed her fingers on the pillow, hesitation clouding her mind.
“I–”
She sucked in a shaky breath, turning her gaze to the sheets on her bed.
“You know how my parents were... killed. In a fire?”

Cherry nodded solemnly.

“Well,” Silver carried on, pondering over her next words. “I saw someone.”

“Who was it Silver...” Cherry tilted her head, her eyes softening.

Silver held her breath for a moment, weighing her thoughts.
“Someone who died. Twelve years ago.”

Cherry’s eyes widened, as if they were bulging out of their sockets.
“I beg your pardon?”

“I know, I know!” Silver countered. “It’s crazy! I’m pretty sure I’m going crazy too!”

“No, no–” Cherry said quickly. “Don’t worry, dead people come back to life all the time, right?”

Silver gaped at her, taking a moment to process.
“Now I feel like you’re making fun of me.”

“No!” Cherry insisted. “I swear, I’m not! I’m just– I’m just a little taken aback. How– who was it?”

Silver inhaled sharply.
“Her name was Ashlynn Speed; she was the mayor’s little sister.”

“The mayor?” Cherry raised an eyebrow in uncertainty.

“Alexandra Speed,” Silver explained. “I don’t know if you’ve met her yet, but you might have seen her daughter or nephew around.”

“Her daughter and nephew?” Cherry repeated. “Her nephew’s name is Flame, right?”

Silver tilted her head.
“How’d you know?”

Cherry forced a laugh.
“Scarlet may or may not have bumped into him the other day.”

“I see,” a playful smile played on Silver’s lips. “That must’ve been quite the experience.”

“Tell me about it,” Cherry gave a theatrical sigh. “She’s not used to meeting new people, so James got a bit... uhm...”
She smiled sheepishly,
“Overprotective.”

Silver gave her an incredulous look.
“What on earth happened?”

Cherry heaved a breath.
“I don’t even want to know. I just hope the poor boy’s okay.”

Silver failed to hold back her laughter, bursting into a fit of giggles.
“I can’t believe it! Poor Flame!”

Cherry’s smile faltered, her face softening to a gentler expression.
“So, is Ashlynn his mother?”

Silver dipped her chin in solemn agreement.
“The truth is, for most of his life, Ms. Speed raised him to believe that she was his real mother, all while hiding the truth about her sister.”

“How’d he find out?”

Silver lifted her shoulders in uncertainty.
“If I’m being honest, I don’t know. Tim just told me that it was shortly after Mr. Wolfe left that Flame found out the truth.”

“Who’s Mr. Wolfe?” Cherry asked her.

“The mayor’s husband,” Silver answered, articulating each word carefully. “Oliver Wolfe. He used to work with my parents a lot before... before he just disappeared.”

“Where’d he go...”

“I’m not sure,” Silver spoke with measured words. “Him leaving was just... a shock. To everyone. He was a fun-loving, cheerful and messy man – always there for Flame and Blaze no matter what.”

“I see,” Cherry murmured, glancing down at the floor. “So, uhm... are you sure you saw Ashlynn?”

Silver made a confirming gesture.
“I always heard about how, despite their three-year age gap, the Speed sisters looked almost identical.”
She furrowed her brows.
“The woman I saw at the fire was wearing a firefighter’s uniform. She looked exactly like the mayor. I was wondering why Ms. Speed would be wearing a firefighter’s uniform when I saw her – talking to the officers.”

Cherry’s face darkened as she drifted into contemplation.
“Interesting.”

Silver drew in a deep breath, pondering over why she was able to trust Cherry so easily.

“So,” Cherry crossed her legs and nodded at Silver’s phone. “Who were you talking to?”

“That’s–” Silver let out a jittery laugh, fidgeting with her fingers. “It’s Sarah.”

Cherry offered a gentle grin.
“Who’s Sarah?”

“I... she’s... Sarah is an AI I created when I was younger,” Silver explained slowly. “Over the past few years, with the help of my Uncle Vic, I’ve improved her.”

“So, she’s an artificial intelligence?” Cherry noted carefully, glancing up from the phone to Silver. “Who’s Uncle Vic by the way?”

Silver’s face lit up, warmth spreading over her face.
“My mum’s older brother, Victor Wilde. He works as a private investigator in New York!”

Cherry’s eyes dimmed slightly.
“Sounds like you and your uncle are pretty close.”

Silver nodded vigorously.
“Whenever he visited us, he’d take me and my little brother to the shooting range without our parents knowing so–”

“So, he could teach ‘em to fight bad guys,” Sarah interrupted. “Pew, pew, pew!”

Silver shot Sarah a deadpan look before turning back to Cherry.
“And he even taught us self-defence!”

“I see,” Cherry laughed softly, attempting to conceal her sadness.

Silver sighed contently.
“Uncle Vic is truly amazing. And did you know that whenever our parents would go on business trips, his assistant would babysit us? And–”

“Silver,” her phone interjected her rant. “I think you should sleep now.”

“Sarah,” Silver blew out in annoyance, shutting her laptop and placing it on her nightstand. “I’m not even tired.”

She switched off her phone and set it down next to her laptop, turning back to Cherry.
“She can’t hear us anymore.”

“But she’s right, you know?” Cherry snickered. “It’s late.”

“But I don’t think I can...” Silver whispered, lying down.

Without warning, Cherry began to hum a tune – an ancient lullaby.

Her eyes began to fall heavy with sleep, the thoughts clouding her mind disappearing without another trace. She yawned helplessly. Cherry’s voice reminded her of a siren’s melody – unsettling, hypnotic and alluring – the kind of voice that can make you do anything.